Excellent blog!

As far as social media goes, I’ve only started on Twitter but I know more about Flickr and it is good for connecting to photo enthusiasts but not buyers. I may be the most ‘interesting’ landscape photographer on there. Just search for big keywords like , ‘california’, ‘hawaii’ etc and my pictures are at or near the top out of millions. While I get lots of requests for freebies or photo workshops, only a few search me out for prints or other work. One photo got 200,000 views in a day a couple of weeks ago and lots of praise but not much came of it.

Some galleries have contacted me but we will see how that goes. The jury is still out on social networking as far as I’m concerned!

Patrick

So I agree with you that a potential buyer is less likely to be found on social networking. But a potential consumer of art is definitely out there. It is just that the money is no longer the currency of exchange… if its a good thing or not I do not know.

This is like my measly 1-cent compared to Cutthroat Stalker. BTW, I found this blog through Michael.

Anil, I actually don’t know. Most of them are local small businesses whose business presence is targeted at the local community. I assume some individuals working for them may be using these sites socially but I doubt anyone is looking for business there (if anything, it’s probably what they do when they are done with business and want a break).

Guy

I don’t really know much about these new networks, but I seriously doubt that folks there would really be willing to pay a few hundred dollars for a fine-art print. What do you think?

I was hesitant on Twitter, but it has proven it may be very useful. Not for print sales, as pointed out, but spreading my name and who I am. And then that has led to interest in more workshops/instruction. It is probably one of the faster ways to build a network of fellow photographers, and actually as an information resource. Don’t forget, you can take from it too.

Just some thoughts, but it has definitely generated some leads for me in just the month or so I have been on it.

Good luck with it all, you deserve it.
Paul

I teach nonprofit organizations how to use social media tools to enhance their ability to achieve their missions. For nonprofit organizations, the main dynamic is not how can we raise more money through social media, but instead how can we better engage with our current audience and reach new audiences through these tools. Most nonprofit organizations will not raise a lot of money through social media, but they will be able to communicate in very cost-effective ways, potentially reach new people through the viral nature of many social media tools, communicate in real time, and build stronger (in some senses!) relationships with their current constituencies.

Although I am only a hobbyist photographer and do not know the ins and outs of the photography business, I do believe that the lessons for nonprofit organizations are valid for others trying to use social media tools to their advantage. While social media tools will not necessarily bring you a lot of new business, they can help you build stronger, real-time ties with certain portions of your audience. By reminding people about your activities through something like Facebook or a blog, you help put people in the position of thinking of you first when they need something (a print, workshop, inspiration, etc). You might not sell a lot more prints or license more images, but you may be able to build stronger relationships with some of your current customers and those who admire your work through social media tools.

I think it is all about setting expectations. If you want your marketing/outreach efforts to directly result in immediate increased revenue, using social media probably is not the best strategy. With nonprofit organizations, at least, those who set their social media-related goals in terms of financial results are often disappointed. Those who set goals around things like increased engagement for current audiences or reaching new audiences often have greater success because they set realistic expectations. If a photographer does not have the time or inclination to invest his/her time in activities that will not directly generate revenue, I think you are right that social media is probably not a good investment of time and resources. However, I do think it is important to invest at least a little time in developing a basic presence with social media tools like Facebook and blogs to stay current with communication trends if your audience includes younger and tech savvy people.

I am on the same page as you. Last week I joined Twitter for no other reason than “everyone else is doing it”, I have noticed more traffic to my blog, which is a definite plus. However, I don’t see people who are following me there making that purchase, maybe in a workshop, I can only hope that this changes in the future.

I think what happens to most photographers is that they fall in love with photography and begin to forget about the bottom line-profit. It is not a successful business unless it makes a profit. And deciding on the where, when, and how the income comes from in order to make a profit at the end of the year is trick to making it. I by no means have even 1/10th of the answers. I love being a photographer and love creating new and exciting imagery, I am still running a business and that is the bottom line. My work needs to produce income.

One of my biggest worries right now is that photography is headed in a direction that will change it forever and not necessarily for the better. With the advent of digital cameras, the explosion of the computer, and the explosion of the web, photography is becoming intangible. There is no more film to hold, no more prints in a portfolio and no wondering if you got the shot. Could this trend be the death of an art form? Photography is extremely visual and hands on touchy, feely, have you ever seen an original Ansel Adams print hanging in a gallery? It defies any view of it on the web.

I feel that all of these marketing tools have great potential, we as business people just need to figure out which ones work best for our model. I personally want to put something tangible into my prospective client’s hand, even if they do nothing other than pinning it up in their cubicle. At least I know I have inspired them in some way if they did just that.

Jay